Sarah vs the Mystery Agent
by MyNameIsJeffNImLost
Summary: Chuck is no longer in the CIA, so Sarah and Casey must adjust to missions without him as they run into a new rival. Meanwhile, what is Chuck to do with his free time? Set post 3.19.
1. Too Late

_A/N: _Since my first story was almost exclusively dialogue, I thought I'd try something more normal.

_Summary: _Sarah and Casey try to adjust to missions without Chuck

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to?

_02 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 1**

**Too Late**

**Set after 3.19, Chuck vs. the Ring, Part II**

**Undisclosed office building**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

_Thirty seconds._

Twenty-eight, now, if she was lucky.

Sarah sprinted down the empty hallway to the stairwell. Once inside, she raced down the stairs to the _basement._

_Twenty seconds. _

The second door on the left was her first target. She pulled out the electronic scanner that Chuck built for the security door in the subway. While Chuck could not be on this mission, at least she would bring something he created. With Chuck out of the CIA, the team was down to two—not an ideal situation. This mission would have been easier with a third…with Chuck. The door clicked and Sarah was inside.

_Twelve seconds._ There was not enough time.

Sarah opened the security panel and pulled out the bypass device. Digging through the wires, her ear bud clicked. _ Damn!_ That was not thirty seconds. She was out of time. Casey had finished his food delivery at the main desk. Now the guards would be watching the monitors again. They might notice a disruption in the feeds. She could still try to loop them, but there would be a risk. Of course part of being a spy required risk.

She found the master line and prepared to splice the line, when she saw the next problem. A black device was attached to the main line for the security feed. The feed was already on a loop. Someone else was already here. At least the existing bypass meant she could wander the halls freely. Putting away her device and pulling out her gun, she returned the hallway and up the stairwell. She had hoped she wouldn't have to sprint up the twenty flights, but with another player in the game, speed was critical. She thought about informing Casey, but there was not much he could do. He had to man the getaway vehicle. She really wished Chuck was with her now. _Stop thinking about Chuck! _Remembering the building plans, there should be two stairwells. There was no guarantee she could cut off the competition by herself. She could only hope to get lucky. If she wasn't, they still had a chance. If he were going use the front, he would have killed or tranq'ed the guards on the way in. That left the back loading dock door, where Casey was waiting.

_Floor Ten, nine to go._ At that point a rope dropped next to her, through the middle shaft of the stair well. Sarah looked up for the source of the rope. That was a mistake. A black streak was right on top of her. She was knocked back by a boot to the shoulder. He was sliding very fast down the rope, and she had walked right into it. Quickly recovering, she looked for her gun. After reclaiming in on the ninth floor landing, she lined up her shot. Too late. He was gone. Only an empty rope swung loosely in the stair well.

"Casey, another man it here. He already has the intel. He got past me and is coming your way!"

_Grunt. _(Good, I get some gunplay.)

"Just get ready. I have five flights before we can pin him in."

_Grunt. _(Hurry up.)

Sarah was back where she started. Normally, a spy would remove the security override to remove all trace of ever being there. In a hostile situation, however, that wasn't an option. She had to get to the back door.

Bursting out the door, she came face-to-face with Casey.

"Did you get him?" Sarah gasped. The stair sprints covered her cardio workout for the day.

"No. You?" Casey questioned.

"If I got him, why would I ask you?" Sarah sarcastically fired back.

Suddenly, there was a crash. After a brief scan for the cause, Sarah raced around to the side of the building, and Casey jumped in the van.

She was too late again. The crash was caused by a broken third story window with a busted office chair on the ground. This guy was good! He anticipated the rear exit being blocked and created an alternative exit. She fired two feeble shots at the fleeing vehicle, but any hit at this range would have been pure luck with a hand gun.

Casey pulled up. "Walker, get in!"

"Forget it, Casey. We aren't going to catch him in that thing. The van is not designed for high speed pursuit."

"It's just a family sedan."

"He left some equipment behind. The security feed is still on a loop."

Casey was frustrated. No gun play and no car chase. Sarah was right, though. "Fine. Go back in to see if he left any clues behind before some rent-a-cop finds the broken window."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Sarah glared before she reentered the building.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Castle**

**Two hours later**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"So the mission was a failure." Beckman looked perturbed. Of course, that was normal for her.

"Yes, ma'am," Casey responded, even though it wasn't a question.

"It appears, Agents, that this team is not nearly effective as it was with Agent Bartowski."

"We were just minutes too late. The mystery agent was still on the premises and barely escaped. Upon returning, we found the hard drive. He must have made a copy. We took the drive, however the instant we hooked up the drive at Castle, it fried. Looks like the mystery agent left behind a virus." Sarah hoped her excuse did not sound as bad to Beckman as it did to herself.

Beckman didn't seem to care. "What do we know about this person?"

"The rope used to flee down the stairwell was orange, not black like normally used by covert ops. The fact that he used the rope suggests he knew we were there. Otherwise, he would have just walked down the stairs. The getaway vehicle, a silver Toyota, was not at the extraction point when we entered, so there was at least one accomplice. So far we have not been able to find the vehicle on local traffic cameras, but we will keep looking. The security bypass device does not appear to be government issue. It may be hand constructed. I'm going to leave it out at home to see if Chuck flashes on it. Maybe something similar has been used in other jobs."

"I've been leaving a position open on your team in case Agent Bartowski changes his mind. However this failed mission is starting to make me reconsider my decision. Continue your efforts to ID the car. I hope your mission tomorrow is more successful or I may have to send out a new leader for your team." With that parting threat, the screen was off.

_Sometimes Beckman could be such a bitch._ Sarah looked over to Casey. Only he could smirk and look angry at the same time.

"Bartowski still isn't cooperating? Just bring him here and ask him to flash on it."

"Our agreement is he will report any flashes to me, so our team can follow through. But Chuck will remain out of the operation and will not report to Castle. Leaving intel around the apartment is our agreed upon way of asking for help, without actually asking for help."

"That is one of the most ridiculous schemes I have heard of. When are you going to straighten that boy's head out and get him to come back? Surely you have _ways_ of doing that."

"Chuck gave his word to his sister that he would leave the CIA. He takes that type of promise very seriously, just like his promise to keep the last three years of his life a secret. I'm not going to manipulate him into breaking his promise to Ellie." _She may someday be my…_

"Please, no lady feelings! What about Grimes? He is going to see this intel you casually leave around and stick his furry face where it doesn't belong."

"Morgan knows what Chuck and I are doing and has promised to stay out of my stuff if he knows what is good for him."

Casey snickered at that. "Just make sure when he slips up I get a shot at him." Now Casey looked intrigued by the possibilities.

"Casey, you are just looking for an excuse to get to Morgan, aren't you?" Casey shrugged, as Sarah continued, "Let me guess. Alex said to lay off him about the two of them, so you want another excuse."

The lack of any kind of grunt response was the only confirmation Sarah needed.

"If Ellie and Chuck come around on their own, Chuck will rejoin our team. Until then, I'm not pressuring him."

"You better rethink that Walker. If he doesn't get back soon, we might get stuck with another CIA Idiot in Charge, like we did a few months ago. We all know how well that worked."

_He didn't just say that, did he? _"For that comment, you get to review the traffic cameras again. I'm going home." Sarah abruptly got up to leave.

"Good. Maybe you could start some convincing. Just don't tell me the details." With another snicker, Casey walked over to the main terminal bringing up the traffic recordings again.

Sarah stormed up the stairs back to the Orange Orange. For some reason, she and Casey got along a lot better when Chuck and Morgan were around. Maybe it was because Casey would make fun of one of them instead of her. She didn't like that either, but the truth was the two of them had thicker skins from years of practice. Sarah, on the other hand, would just flash back to Jenny Burton, the introverted girl who was made fun of because her dad was in prison. She shook it off. Casey was probably just acting this way because he missed Chuck being part of the team, although he would never admit it. Her problem was she missed Chuck, period. One brief mission and she already missed working with him—just being near him. Fortunately, the last part of that problem was soon to be fixed. Sarah sighed as she started up her Porsche.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**The Walkertowski-Grimes Place**

**Twenty minutes later**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

It was late. Sarah quietly opened the front door to leave the other occupants undisturbed. Chuck has left the light on for her. He was always so considerate. After the butt chewing and threats from Beckman, she just wanted to curl up next to her sleeping boyfriend and forget her problems.

"Hi honey!" Chuck turned his head from the sink where he was doing dishes.

"_Chuck_, _what are you doing up?"_ Sarah whispered.

"It's ok. Morgan is not here." Chuck toweled off his hands.

_Hmmm. A late date with Alex. _"You didn't answer my question." Sarah was dumping her gear by the sofa as Chuck dashed over to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I was waiting up for you."

"Chuck, I realize we are both going to always worry about each other, but you didn't have to do that."

"I'm not the CIA agent doing who knows what on missions. I'm just a temporarily unemployed nerd herder. I have nothing better to do than wait up for my beautiful girlfriend."

"And I know how you get into trouble without even trying." Sarah pulled out the homemade device and placed in on the dining room table.

"I didn't flash on any bad guys tonight."

"Good." Sarah didn't look like it was good.

Chuck concern increased, "What's wrong? Were you hurt?"

"No. No gunshot wounds, stab wounds or other major injuries. Maybe one bruise, because I was knocked over."

Chuck's eyes opened wide.

"It was no big deal. It was my own fault really. I walked into it."

"Then what's wrong?" Chuck was obviously still concerned as his eyes had not recovered.

"The mission was a bust. Beckman chewed us out and threatened to bring another agent in to lead the team."

"She wouldn't."

"No, it's an empty threat. She knows she is partly to blame for letting Shaw get away with so many mistakes. She never should have let him on our team. The three of us took out Fulcrum. We didn't need a new team leader. I missed you, though."

"Sarah, I—"

"I know. I want you safe, just like Ellie does. I just missed you."

Chuck really liked that Sarah could really open up to him now. "I think you could use some quality cuddling in bed." Chuck raised his eyebrows a few times.

"Sounds perfect," Sarah smiled.

"First, let me look at this." Chuck reached over and picked up the device from the table. "Real subtle, by the way."

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Sarah tried the most obviously fake innocent expression possible.

Chuck just laughed in response. He flipped the black box over and flicked a switch to open it. The insides included various wires, a tiny circuit board and retractable antenna.

While Chuck was intently examining the device, Sarah poured herself a water. After about a minute Chuck looked up. "Sorry, no flashes. It's pretty cool, though. It looks like it can loop a security feed while simultaneously broadcasting the real video on an encrypted channel. Most of the parts are available at the Buy More Plaza spy shop. The rest someone could get from a cell phone."

"That's my nerd." Sarah smiled and gave Chuck a quick kiss. "Just a second, while I call Casey."

"New plan. Before the cuddling, I'm going to start you a bath," Chuck offered as he headed out of the room. "Then you get a massage. Your shoulder must be sore."

Now Sarah was outright grinning. "You are so wonderful, I don't deserve you."

"_I've told you before Walker. Not interested."_

"Casey, I wasn't talking to you."

"_Really." _Casey laughed. "_So Walker, what did your boy find out?"_

"No flashes, but he figured it out anyway. The device could be home built from a cell phone and parts from the local spy store."

"_The rope looked like it could be purchased at the local sporting goods store."_

"These weren't amateurs, though. The device was sending out an encrypted feed of the real security signal. They knew exactly where I was while I was breaking in. The guy also jumped out of a third story window, got up and ran away."

"_That corresponds with what I've discovered. Our van was not on the traffic records either. The traffic cameras were on loop."_

"They have a top-notch tech guy to be able to break into LA traffic control and an extreme sports nut."

"_Exactly. I'm out of leads."_

"Me too."

"_Get some rest for tomorrow's mission. We need to be on the top of our game. I'm heading home now. Casey out."_

"Walker out." Sarah sighed. Tomorrow night had to be a success. Beckman did not have a lot of patience. The truth was a third person on the team _might_ have changed the outcome of the night's mission. It's just neither Casey nor Sarah trusted a new person on the team right now. They had to figure out how to design and execute better two-person missions. She didn't know why it should be that hard. They both used to work alone. Sarah used to work with Bryce, but Casey and she were not working _those_ types of missions. A few successes as a two-person team would get Beckman off their backs. They just needed to get used to missions without Chuck in or out of the van. _Without Chuck…_

Sarah's introspective was interrupted by the door. Morgan was home.

"Hey Sarah, how was the mission?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You know I can't talk about it. How was the date?"

Morgan took a step back. "Date? What? No. I wasn't on a date."

"Then what were you doing? Wait, I don't want to know. Chuck and I are talking a bath so the door will be locked. Don't bother knocking." Sarah's eyes narrowed.

Morgan's eyes did the opposite. "I can't use the bathroom in my own home?"

"Not until we are done. Who is still employed and is covering the rent?"

"I see how it is going to be. Don't mess with the kiss-ass ninja spy girl. Got it."

Sarah smiled in satisfaction. "I knew you were trainable. Good night Morgan." After a nice _two_ person bath, she would take that massage offer. Chuck must have noticed her favoring her shoulder. He always noticed her. Sarah left the room looking for the wonderful man she thought she didn't deserve.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: Coming next: Not Again


	2. Not Again

_07 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 2**

**Not Again**

**The next evening**

**Another undisclosed office building**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Hi guys!"

The two men swiveled in their chairs and froze. It's not every day a beautiful woman walked into a room, smiles at them, and winked. Of course it would be better if she were not wearing black fatigues and pointing a tranq gun at them.

Two shots later, the shocked men were out cold.

Sarah quickly pulled the first man out of his chair and looked at the control screen.

"We have a problem, Casey!"

"What now?"

"The back door alarm says it is enabled. I disabled it five minutes ago. The security system has already been penetrated."

"They are already here."

"Looks like it. You should block the front gate."

"No good. I noticed a secondary access point from the parking lot of the building next door. I'm coming in."

"Ok. It looks like the feeds are already on loop. You take the southwest staircase. I've got the northeast. We'll meet at the office on the third floor."

They were late again. Sarah had to hurry. Why were all the missions lately _not_ going according to plan? Beckman had told them these leads came from an anonymous source. How anyone could be anonymous these days, Sarah didn't know. The lead had been backtracked from Homeland Security to the FBI. From there, the trail had gone cold. That was the problem. Why couldn't they trust the FBI to properly verify a source? The leads were valid, though. The problem was someone else also had the leads. There must be another one of those nasty government leaks. The leadership of the Ring and Fulcrum were gone, but some of their minions were still in key positions. It would take years to properly clean house.

With gun in hand, Sarah scanned the hall. It was clear. Quickly finding the staircase entrance, Sarah hesitated and took a position by the door opening. If this mystery agent was so good, he would already have the PDA and be on his way out again. She could surprise him. Wait. This wouldn't work. If they were monitoring the internal feed, she wouldn't be able to ambush. Plus he might just go out the window again. She had to get to that office.

The third floor was quiet. Most of the overheads were off, with only a few fluorescents on, casting large shadows. The PDA was supposed to be in a safe in the northwest corner of the building. Sarah quickly moved down the hallway between the dark, high cubicles. She tried the office handle, very slowly. It was unlocked. "_Casey where are you?" _She whispered into her mic. No response. Where was Casey?

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Casey was ready. This mystery team was not getting away again. Unfortunately, they knew next to nothing about this team. That meant capture for interrogation, not kill. So here he was, using a tranq gun, not a real weapon. The enemy would not be that magnanimous. The instant he entered the third floor, Casey knew something was off. One of the cubicles in the second row had a desk lamp on.

"_Walker, I think I found the second man. You have the office, I got this one."_ No response. _"Walker?" _Where was Walker? Casey felt a pinch to the neck. He smiled and stumbled. Then everything went black.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sarah opened the office door as quietly as she could. He was closing the safe on the far wall. She had him! Suddenly, he flinched.

"Don't move."

The man was dressed in black, with a blue and white ski mask. With his back to Sarah, he lifted his hands in surrender. He started to slowly turn when suddenly he dove behind the fichus. Sarah fired her tranq gun, but her shot was diverted by the foliage. The man pushed the plant over, tucked and rolled toward her. She took two more shots, but must have hit his vest. Suddenly the man kicked free her weapon. She reached for the dagger in her right leg holster. It wasn't there! The man had lifted her weapon before diving back across the desk and attempting to take cover.

_He's armed. No more funny business._ Sarah grabbed the blade in her left holster and jumped onto the desk. She plunged towards the back of his neck, but her stroke was aggressively diverted. Instead of a knife in the right shoulder where she aimed, her knife was knocked clear across the room. A knife fight without a knife was not part of her plan.

For some unknown reason, the man just discarded her first knife.

"Wait!"

Sarah used his hesitation to place her palms behind her on the desk. Flipping her right foot out from underneath her, she connected with an uppercut kick to his jaw. He crumpled to the ground.

"Casey, I got mine. What's your status? Casey!"

Casey better be ok. Or she was taking it out on this mystery agent, whoever he was.

"Excuse me, uh, Sarah, uh, sorry I had to turn off the jammers. Are you there?"

"Who is this? Morgan!?"

"Uh, hi, Sarah. When you find Chuck, I could really use a hand at my command post."

_Command post? Chuck? That means. _Sarah released a heavy sigh. Sliding off the desk, she heard the not-so-mystery man start to groan.

"Chuck, get up so I can kick your ass again."

"Uhhhhh. Sarah. That hurt. If you knew it was me, did you have to kick so hard?" Chuck removed his ski mask and unsuccessful tried to grin through the pain.

"I didn't know it was you until your bearded friend broke radio silence. If I knew it was you, you would be unconscious right now. What are you doing on here?"

Chuck rolled over and held out his hand. "Sarah, I promise I'll explain everything. Now is really not the place. My security loop only lasts thirty minutes, so we need to get out of here."

Sarah yanked Chuck up. "Ok, but this isn't over. Where is Morgan?"

Chuck looked confused, or maybe that was just the kick to the head. "He should be on his way out by now."

"He said he was at the 'command post' and needed help."

"He insisted on following me in this time, so I left him in a cubicle," Chuck sighed. "Follow me."

"First, hand over the PDA."

"I don't have it."

"Then I have to get in the safe."

"No you don't. I cloned it."

"Hand over your game copier then."

"I didn't use one of those this time. I just uploaded the information back to base. I'll give it to you when we get out of here."

"The security team is unconscious, we have time."

"I intercepted a pizza delivery call. When the security guards don't answer the call from reception-"

"Ok. Consider this _briefly_ tabled."

Chuck started to lift up the fichus. "Just leave it, Chuck."

"We really shouldn't leave any sign that we were here."

"Maybe you shouldn't have knocked over the plants and destroyed a computer monitor then."

"I was worried that my wonderful, beautiful, amazing girlfriend might kill me if I didn't disarm her first." Chuck lifted the monitor off the floor and sighed. The screen was cracked.

"Nice try. Killing you is what I now have planned for tonight, after we get home." Sarah casually picked up here gun while Chuck scurried over to retrieve the knives.

"Hey, give me a break. The Intersect gave me an option for knocking you off the desk, but I didn't want to hurt you."

Sarah lifted her gun at Chuck. "Maybe I should just shoot you now."

"Like you would do that."

"I shot my dad."

"But you love me more." Chuck started a slow smile, but clearly Sarah was not returning it any time soon. "Ok. Ok. I'm going to explain everything. I've been wanting to tell you everything, but haven't had the time. First, we should hurry and get out of here." Chuck skirted past Sarah towards the southwest staircase. Sarah holstered her gun and knives, shook her head, and hurried after him.

It didn't take long before they saw Morgan, wildly waving to them and point to the ground. When they reached him, they say the target of his frantic gesturing. Casey was unconscious on the floor, tranq dart protruding from the back of the neck. He had an odd little smile on his face.

"Morgan, buddy, he is going to kill you."

"I know. He looks happy, though."

"That's the tranq dart. The drugs are one of the few things that make him smile, along with Apple Pie, polishing the Vic, and shooting people."

"Oh. Well, could you help me carry him to the car?"

Sarah walked up, looked between Casey and Morgan, and couldn't contain a little smirk. "Wait, I need a picture." After the first flash she turned to Morgan, "You should be in one of these, too."

"Cheese!"

Sarah's smirk was a poorly contained chuckle now. "Perfect. Morgan, I forgive you for the last two nights because of this priceless memory. It's not like you wouldn't follow Chuck anywhere anyway."

"Thanks, Sarah." Morgan started to fumble with Casey's ankles.

Sarah quickly turned serious. "You, Chuck, still on my list. This had better be a really good explanation. Help Morgan with Casey. I'll take point."

Chuck grabbed under Casey's arms as Morgan lifted his feet. At the top of the stairs, Morgan paused. "We can't take him down head first. I should lead."

"I'm taller than you. I have to go first."

"Guys! Just hurry. I'm still recording audio, so Casey is going to know if you drop him." Morgan's eyes became saucers. Chuck readjusted his grip before cautiously taking the first step.

Once outside, Casey was tossed in the back of the van and Morgan scurried off to the Buy More assistant manager's vehicle.

"Chuck, where are you going?"

"I'm driving."

"No way. You are not in the CIA, remember. You're lucky I don't have you cuffed."

"You never have to do that, Sarah. I'm always willing." Chuck started a small smile that was abruptly halted with a slug to the right arm. "Oww! Fine, no flirting. I'm still driving because you don't know where we are going."

"I know exactly where you are going—a holding cell at Castle."

"One of those one-bed, one-bath cells?" Another jab to the arm. " Oww! Sorry, I could help it. You're so cute when you're pissed at me. Wait! No more punching. We are going back to base, where I can give you the intel targets of your last two missions."

"By 'base' you mean home, right? I can drive there."

"No 'base' is not home. Well, not anymore. You'll see. Please, just let me drive. We still need to get out of here. While we are arguing, Morgan is probably already half way there."

"Fine!" Sarah threw the keys at Chucks head. Chuck flinched, allowing the keys to go sailing past, sliding fifteen feet across the pavement. Chuck meekly retrieved the cars and carefully entered the driver's seat of the van. This was not going to be fun.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: I know the mystery didn't last long, but this is not going to be a long story. I could have called this story _Chuck vs. the Girlfriend Who's Pissed Off about Being Lied to Again._ That would have been too obvious.

Coming next: Shut Up and Drive


	3. Shut Up and Drive

_09 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 3**

**Shut Up and Drive**

**West on the 10**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The car ride was too quiet. This late at night the 10 didn't have that much traffic. The only noise besides the tires on the pavement was the quiet snoring of the 'bear' in the back of the van. Hopefully he would stay that way, at least for a little while. If he woke up now, the driver would soon be dead, sending the van off the expressway. As Chuck was driving, he didn't like that idea at all.

He thought maybe he should whistle. No. That's wouldn't go over too well with the beautiful blonde in the passenger seat. The radio seemed a safer bet.

_I'm alright, Nobody worry 'bout me.  
Why you got to gimme a fight? Can't you just let me be?_

_No! Could there be a worse song to come on right now? Why was Kenny Loggins even on the radio nowadays? Caddyshack was from 1980. When did 80's music become 'Classic' Rock? It's not even really Rock. It's more pop. I guess it's good driving music, but "Danger Zone" seems more appropriate right now._

Chuck's nervous musings were stopped when the radio was suddenly cut off. Chuck unsuccessfully tried to contain his gulp. Sarah had reached out with something to turn off the radio. Chuck kept his eyes fixed on the highway in front of him. He really didn't want to think about what that something was. Of course he already knew what it was. Out in his peripheral he could see that something spinning through Sarah's fingers. Yes, she was twirling one of her smaller throwing knives in her fingers. This was not going to be good.

No music. Maybe some small talk would work. "So Sarah, how's the job going? New team working out for you?" Chuck winced as he realized an instant too late that small talk about work was not the right approach. Maybe he could spin it into some humor. "Any surprises? Did your boyfriend show up unexpectedly at work, forgetting to bring flowers?"

"Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" Sarah's gaze was fixed forward at the road.

Humor was not working either."Sarah I'll explain everything when we get there."

"Where is it we are going, and how soon until we are there?" Sarah asked through her teeth.

"Encino. Twenty minutes give or take."

"This 'home base' of yours is in Encino?" Sarah spit out.

"Yes."

Sarah hesitated a couple seconds, thinking. "Oh". Chuck thought that sounded a little more positive, but he didn't want to push it.

After a few minutes of silence, Chuck was really getting nervous again. Should he say something else? If he did, he knew he would just start babbling. He just needed to get there soon. Maybe driving faster would help.

Sarah finally broke the silence. "Why do you keep doing it?"

"I'm sorry," Chuck replied a little too quickly.

"I see you have been listening to Awesome. You're apologizing without knowing what you did wrong. Ellie told me he does that a lot. He always gets into much more trouble later."

"I'm still sorry."

"For?"

"Uhhh—"

"That's what I thought. If you were really sorry you would stop doing it."

"I would help if I knew what I was doing—"

"Is this some sort of punishment?"

"No. I love you. Why would I ever—"

"I'm secretive about my past, so you are paying me back."

"I'm ok with that. You'll tell me when you are ready. I'm not paying you b—"

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"What do you—"

"Let's see. There were your dreams about Shaw being alive."

"You found out later that morn—"

"From _Morgan._"

"I wanted to confirm it first. I didn't want you worrying about another boyfriend coming back from the dead. Even after we tried to confirm, we were still wrong."

"Then there was the Intersect doing damage to your brain."

"I was going to tell you, but you surprised me with your first 'I love you.' I didn't want to ruin the moment."

"You should have told me right after that moment."

"I reconsidered. I decided the shrink was a quack. He knew nothing about molecular computing. He was just making up stuff so his reports would seem important. He was probably embarrassed for misdiagnosing me as a crazy person. Dad understood the real problem. It had nothing to do with psychology, psychiatry or any of that doctor's specialties. The problem was electro-neurological, and only Dad knew how to fix it. Once Dad fixed the problem with the Governor, I would have told you about the problem without the worry."

"You made me look like a fool at the hearing."

"I'm sorry. I never meant—"

"Then there is Prague."

"How is that the same?"

"Carina showed me the video from the vault. If you told me your reasons for staying in Prague at the train station, I would have understood, and you wouldn't have broken my heart."

"Ok, I admit that was _monumentally_ stupid on my part. I'm sorry to _both_ of us for not saying more in Prague. Leaving you at that train station was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I was worried if I had said my next three words, I would have lost my resolve. I would have gotten on that train with you, and we would still be on the run from the CIA."

"Three words?"

"I love you."

Sarah shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Nice try, _sweetie_. The way I see it, this latest incident is strike four. Most people only get three."

"Come on. I'm Kirk Gibson, repeatedly fouling balls into the stands before hitting the game winning home run."

"Who?"

"Sarah, I know you're not into sports. But we do live in Echo Park, just walking distance from Dodger Stadium. Even I've heard about the home run that helped the Dodgers win their last World Series in '88."

"I've been a little preoccupied with my boyfriend since I moved into the neighborhood. Since he's now in trouble, I'll have more time to learn about the local history."

This wasn't working. His hole was getting wider and deeper. After a minute, Sarah broke the silence again. "Why did you follow us on our mission tonight?"

"It's not like I knew you would be there." Chuck turned off the 10 onto the 405.

"You mean you didn't flash on the mission files I brought home? I thought I could trust you. You are supposed to tell me when you flash."

"You can trust me—just like I trust you. I promise I did not look at the files, and I didn't flash."

"Then why were you there?"

"The 'why' will be explained at home base."

Sarah raised her voice, "I really getting tired of that excuse." Casey stirred in the back.

"It's not an excuse, honey. It just will make more sense when you see it. What I don't understand is how you and Casey were there both nights."

"I'll explain it when I get _you_ back to Castle…locked up in a cell," Sarah deadpanned. "See it works both ways." After a pause, "We got a tip."

Chuck let out a quiet, frustrated growl. "So it was my fault."

"You were the tip? You are supposed to report flashes to me, not the FBI."

"I told you, it wasn't a flash. I came across some information of illegal activity at four locations. I provided enough details that the FBI should have been able to get warrants to raid the offices. Everything should have been aboveboard—no spy-work necessary. I just needed to slip in and make a copy first. It's not like I have access to criminal investigation files anymore."

"Two of the offices were flagged by Homeland Security. The NSA and Beckman interceded so Casey and I could go in quietly."

"You know, Sarah, tranq'ing guards isn't very quiet. I see the CIA is still operating on US soil even though I am off the team."

"Don't complain; it keeps me in LA. Of course that point is moot now that you are going to be locked up."

"You are still going with that? I thought you were kidding."

"Do you need me to list the crimes you committed the last two nights?"

"No."

Sarah ignored the reply. "Let's see: breaking and entering, theft of business property, damage to property—"

"The monitor was party your fault."

Sarah continued, "Theft of personal property-"

"I gave your knife back to you."

"—misappropriating of government resources—"

"You would kill me if I didn't wear a vest."

"—illegal surveillance, hacking into secure government traffic computers, infecting a computer with a virus—"

"Did you see that hard drive? He had some really disgusting photos on it. I had to do something about that to get even."

"I didn't see much of anything on the drive. It was fried."

"You didn't send it you the lab?"

Sarah growled and stabbed the knife into her armrest. "I'm not a complete technical moron, Chuck. I know how plug an external USB drive into a computer."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought either that pervert would fire up the drive in the morning, or the FBI would seize it. If the pervert used it first, it would fry. In the FBI, their lab procedure would have isolated the virus before they started decrypting the drive. I can give you a device to safeguard that problem for happening again. We used to use the device in the Nerd Herd, and I think I have one at home. By the way, I can get you a decrypted copy of the contents by 7am tomorrow."

Sarah turned her head from its fixed forward position, genuinely curious. "So this 'mysterious home base' of yours has a decryption supercomputer in it?"

"No, just a really good Internet connection. It has an OC-768 line. Almost 40 Gigabit per second—that's better than Castle! I might as well be on the Internet backbone. I also have a program that can hijack a couple hundred thousand computers from SETIhome to run data analysis, like decryption. The central servers think fewer computers are online looking for ETs, and the distributed computers think they are analyzing radio telescope data."

"You wrote that?"

"I wish. As a Stanford alum, I kind of like the idea of hijacking a Berkeley project. The program was written by…um…someone I knew."

"I see." Sarah's certainty concerned Chuck. She might be figuring it out. He'd rather tell her the truth than have her figure it out. He knew how Sarah could hold a grudge. She was still bringing up Prague!

Sarah continued, "Sounds like another crime to me. I've left off my favorite one of your felonies—assault of federal agents."

"I didn't!" Chuck protested.

"You hit my shoulder last night," Sarah fired back.

"That was an accident. You even told me you walked into it. Plus you really enjoyed that full body massage I gave you last night. Surely that makes up for it, at least a little." Chuck couldn't see the slight raise of the corners Sarah's mouth. "And tonight it was self defense. I only hit your weapon, and we both know if Morgan didn't fire the tranq gun, he would be in worse shape than Casey right now. We moved up our time tonight just in case your mission was the same as ours again. I didn't know my ninja girl would crash the party again." Chuck was babbling.

"We moved up our time for the same reason." Sarah replied into the her hand which was covering her mouth. She paused for a moment and then queried, "How _did_ Morgan get a gun?"

"That is your fault. I told you he would find your sofa stash. You should probably add a security coded lock. The code could be something no one knows, like your birth date."

"You know, Chuck, maybe you should not be passing around the blame right now. You are still my prisoner." Sarah sounded a little playful.

Chuck thought maybe it was time to try another joke. "Are you saying I have the right to remain silent?"

Sarah's mood abruptly turned. "Unless you are going to give me a _full_ explanation right now, maybe you should just shut up and drive."

_Then again, maybe not yet. _Chuck turned off the 405 onto Ventura Boulevard. At least he was almost there. Sarah was starting to show some cracks of forgiveness. _It will all be ok when I tell her the truth._

"Take a right at the next light."

"Sarah, that's the wrong way. And you don't even know where we are—"

"Chuck!" Sarah interrupted. "I think we are being followed."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: Coming next: The Chase


	4. The Chase

_10 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 4**

**The Chase**

**Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

"Sarah, are you sure?"

"The black SUV followed us on that turn. I'm sure." Angry girlfriend Sarah had been replaced by the cold seriousness of Agent Walker.

"I would think you would have noticed them sooner?"

"It's hard to tell on the expressway. I noticed them when they followed us on the exit ramp. Do you know who they are? Why are they following you?"

"This is your van, Sarah. I think they are following you."

"I assumed, since you have this mysterious source of intel."

"No. My source is private. The FBI, Homeland Security, NSA, or CIA were all involved. One of them probably has a leak, again."

Sarah couldn't disagree. "How close are we to this home base of yours? Is the layout the same? We could use the cage. The home theater room is defensible."

Chuck blinked in confusion. "Wha-What cage?"

"We're going to the Encino Buy More, right?"

"There is no Buy More in Encino. Encino shops at the Beverly Hills Buy More."

It was Sarah's turn to be confused. "Oh. Well is this base defensible?"

"Far from it. It has a safe room, but that would be for hiding, not defending. I really don't want to bother the neighbors. It's just a house."

_Agent_ Walker was gone. "You bought a house!? We're not ready for—"

"Not time for the relationship freak-out, Sarah. I'd rather the bad guys not know about Encino. We don't want it to be an espionage hot-spot target like the Buy More was. We should get back on the expressway. First, we need a reason why we pulled off the expressway. Ah, this will work." Chuck pulled to the side of the road in front of a convenience store.

"What are you doing, Chuck?"

"They don't know we've made them yet. Go in and buy something. When you return, we'll get back on the expressway and lead them away from here."

Sarah cocked her head for a second, mentally reviewing her shopping list. "Then what?"

"I don't know. You're better at the 'taking out the bad guys' part of the plan."

Sarah quirked her mouth to the side. "Ok, I'll think of something." Sarah hopped out of the van and turned back to Chuck. "Don't leave without me. You are still technically my prisoner."

"I'll never willingly leave you, uh, without some plan of coming back like I had in Prague. Unlike other people who plan on leaving to DC, uh, maybe I should just shut up now." Chuck thought the glare in Sarah's eyes probably dropped the temperature ten degrees. Angry Sarah's door slam could probably be heard three blocks away. There was no way their tail would think they had been made. Chuck really needed to learn when to stop talking.

Chuck pulled out his phone, flipped through to Morgan's number and dialed. Since the van was still idling, he mounted the phone in the hands free station and enabled speakerphone.

"Hey buddy. When are you going to get here?"

"Morgan, we've picked up a tail. It's going to take us a while to deal with them. Did anyone follow you?"

"I don't think so. I've been sitting out in front of the house for the last few minutes, and nobody has driven on this block. It is quiet enough here that even I would have noticed."

"Good. Go inside and lock the door."

"I can't. I don't have keys. Remember you are saving a set for Sarah and another for Ellie. You never got me duplicates. Although I really think I should have a set, considering I am your best friend and all."

"Right. Try the Morgan door. It's been over twelve years, but I doubt Dad fixed it."

"Ahhh, the original. It's been ages."

Sarah opened the passenger door and tossed a bag in the back.

"Morgan, when you get inside, I need you to bring up satellite surveillance of the area." Sarah sat and looked to Chuck with a curious expression.

"You didn't tell me the basement code either. You said Sarah gets to find out first." Now Sarah looked at the phone in surprise.

"You're right again. Ok. Just get inside before the neighbors think you are a stalker. Turn on some lights so they don't think you are a burglar. We'll think of something."

"Burglar, huh? Maybe I should go by Bilbo.

"Bye Morgan."

"Oh, bye. Cobra out."

Chuck pulled away from the curb and turned around, back the way they came. "Did you get me some Milk Duds? I'm starving."

"I would think someone with their own satellite links could get their own Milk Duds delivered." Sarah ignored Chuck's little pout. "What's going on, Chuck?"

"We're being followed, Sarah."

"No smart ass, I mean the other stuff: the missions, the satellites, the house."

Chuck turned onto the expressway ramp. "One mission at a time, Sarah." Chuck followed the signs and exited west on to the 101. "What did you buy?"

"Necessities," Sarah replied. "Chuck, how far did you get in Vehicular Evasion and Pursuit training?"

"Not very. Plus it was Europe, so the cars were tiny and the roads were winding and narrow."

Sarah sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. We are going to need to get off the expressway once we are out of Encino. Have you tried flashing on the skill?"

"No. Not yet. I'm trying not to."

"Why not? Chuck, we need you to flash."

"The watch is cracked."

"What!? How!?"

"A beautiful kick-ass ninja girl attacked me earlier this evening."

"I broke your Governor! Oh my…" Sarah was panicked. Agent Walker was no where to be seen.

"Calm down Sarah. It's ok. I'm not sure it's broken. I just want to be careful. I went months before the Intersect heated up my brain last time. I should be ok until I can test it and, if necessary, repair it. I just don't want to overdo. I may really need to flash later."

Angry girlfriend returned, "You really need to stop hiding things from me! Are you sure you can really fix it?"

"Yes, Sarah. It will be ok. I have plans back at home base. For now, we have a bigger problem."

"I can't image a bigger problem than your pending brain meltdown."

"Uh, a more immediate problem then. I think our tail just got reinforcements."

"Oh. Ok. We can't be subtle anymore. Here, let me drive." Sarah undid her seat belt and started to slide over the center divider between the seats.

"Sarah, what are you doing?"

Sarah unclipped Chuck's belt and placed her left leg between Chucks to the floor of the van. She leaned in and started scooting across Chuck's lap. In other circumstances, it would have been a welcome surprise. Going sixty down the Ventura Freeway, this did not seem like a good idea.

"I'm putting it into cruise. Slide out, Chuck." Sarah grabbed the wheel from Chuck's hands.

Chuck inhaled the intoxicating smell of Sarah's hair and tried to focus. "Shouldn't we have done this earlier?"

"We would have, if _someone_ had told me his watch was broken." Somehow, flirty Sarah had snuck into the van. Chuck loved all sides of Sarah's personality, but he knew flirty Sarah was the most evil.

Carefully Chuck slid up the seat, his front rubbing across Sarah's back side. He turned and leaned across the center arm rest. Sarah failed to contain her giggle. "Not now, Chuck."

Chuck joined in the laugh. "Why do the bad guys have to interrupt our fun all the time?" Chuck was stretched on his side from door to door. As he continued his laugh, he tried to pull the passenger door armrest while pushing off the driver's door with his left foot.

"Uh, Chuck. Not that I would normally mind…" Chuck slowly turned his right ankle so his foot would no longer be caught in the rather compromising position between Sarah's thighs. With a final twist, he was able to pull himself sideways, most the way into the passenger seat. Sarah was finally free and able to sit down on the driver's seat. "We better finish that later."

"I hope so," Chuck flirted back. "You know there were easier ways of doing that. Does this mean I'm your boyfriend again?"

Sarah only response was a mischievous, tight smile. Returning her focus to the immediate problem, she started to accelerate. "They have figured out we've made them. You should wake up Casey."

"Shouldn't the tranq have worn off by now? Last time it took three."

"I remember. When you told me that, I increased the concentration in my darts. I thought I might need to stop him from hurting you sometime." Sarah was going eight-five now, but the pursuers were closing.

"Thaaanks. Sooo, how exactly am I supposed to wake him?"

"Get in the back and open the first aid kit."

Moving to the back was much easier without the steering column and a beautiful girlfriend in the way. Of course Chuck still crashed headfirst into the back when Sarah swatted his rear.

Chuck righted himself and reached under the main surveillance desk, pulling out the large white case. "What am I looking for?"

"Get a bottle of epinephrine and load it in the hypospray."

"Did you just 'Star Trek' me?" Chuck started fumbling through the small bottles in the kit.

"I thought that would be better than telling you to grab a syringe and a needle. Inject Casey with the epi."

Chuck stopped and looked up. "You want me to inject Casey with adrenaline? You're kidding, right? When Casey reacts and kills me, I won't be able to finish what we started earlier."

"Chuck, just—" Sarah was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Chuck fell back into the side of the van as Sarah jerked across three lanes of traffic.

Chuck righted himself and squatted over to the sleeping bear. "Ok. Got it. Waking up Casey with my eyes shut."

"Why are your eyes shut?"

"I'm trying not to flash on medical skills. Are you sure about this?"

"It's required for the plan."

"There's a plan?"

"Spies always have a plan. Stop stalling, Chuck!" Chuck shot the epi into Casey's neck.

After about two seconds, Casey shot up, sending Chuck across the back of the van for the second time. With more gun shots, Sarah turned the opposite way, shifting two lanes to the left. This caused Chuck to fall across the van the opposite direction, knocking Casey back down. Instinctively, Casey grabbed Chuck's neck. Lifting him away, Casey narrowed his eyes at his prey. "Bartowski! What are you doing here?"

"Can't… breathe…" Casey adjusted his grip from Chuck's neck to his vest. "You can kill me later, Casey. Now, you need to focus, or you are going to miss out on some gunplay."

Casey attention on Chuck was redirected with the sound of more gunshots. Casey discarded Chuck to the back of the van with a thud. Turning to the front, "What's the situation, Walker?"

"Two unknown hostiles in superior vehicles. I need to get off the highway. I would appreciate some covering fire. Eventually we are going to need capture, disable, or eliminate them." Casey reached up to the ceiling, dropping an access panel. "Chuck, I need an isolated area with few civilians. You grew up around here. Any ideas?"

Chuck ducked around Casey, making his way up front to the passenger seat. It was a little awkward with the involuntary rocking caused by Sarah's irregular swerving between lanes. "Where are we?"

"El Camino Real, Woodland Hills." [*]

"Take the Valley Circle Boulevard exit and go south to Mulholland."

The van was jolted by a bump to the rear bumper. "I told you we should have brought the SUV… or the Vic," Casey growled as he dropped a crate to the floor.

Sarah called back, "Your tank is not much more maneuverable than this boat. If we were in my Porsche, I would have lost them in my dust ten minutes ago."

"Then there wouldn't be room for your boy toy."

"Yes there would, you would have ridden with your captor."

"What? Bartowski wasn't the one who shot me?"

Sarah swung back across a couple of lanes. "Nope."

Chuck couldn't contain himself. "Wasn't me," he sung out.

"Who then? Wait. NO! I don't believe it." Another crash from a crate. This one was dropped accidentally.

"We have pictures. Maybe a video."

Sarah whispered to Chuck, "You have a video?"

Chuck whispered back, "I'll have to check the recording when we get to home b—"

"Where. Is. That. Little. Bearded—"

"He left before us and didn't get tailed. He's already at home base. I'll explain after we take care of our immediate problem. What are you doing back there Casey?" Chuck turned to look at Casey just as Sarah cut across four lanes to the Valley Circle Boulevard exit. Chuck flew back into the passenger door, but Casey was so firmly planted from anger he didn't budge.

"Weapons. I have two M5's and ammo, an M203 grenade launcher and ordinance, and four 80s-vintage High-explosive Anti-armor Grenades."

Chuck couldn't help but flash. "Oh crap. I flashed on the HAGs. Those were supposed to be recalled in the 80s because they are too dangerous for infantry."

"I can handle them."

"They were designed for tanks. They will vaporize the SUVs. Sarah, turn right onto Valmar. We're heading towards the park."

Sarah jumped in, "Casey, Chuck's Governor may be damaged. He's trying to limit his flashes until it can be tested and repaired. Please restrain from saying anything that might cause a flash." Sarah's driving skills on surface streets had helped build up a gap between the van and the pursuit vehicles.

"Great. Super moron is limited to a Google maps role now. Stay up in the wife's seat, Chuck, while I do something useful." Casey busied himself with the crates on the floor of the van when he found a bag. "What is this? Ehhh! Seriously? What is a box of condoms doing back here? Can't you two control yourselves?"

Chuck jaw dropped as he looked over at Sarah. He closed his mouth into a grin. "So that is what you bought. Is that how you treat all of your prisoners?"

Sarah smiled and quickly glanced at Chuck before refocusing on the winding of Old Topanga Canyon Road. "Chuck, we both know you were going to come up was a half reasonable excuse that would be just good enough for me to forgive the past two nights. Then you would be your normal adorable self, say a few cute things to make me laugh and a few more that would make me melt. Finally you would flash a Bartowski eyebrow dance at me, and it would be all over. After last night we were running low. I wanted to make sure we were properly stocked for our make-up activities."

"Ehhh! Can you just let me jump out of the van next time? Maybe one of those SUVs will run me over."

"Sarah, just ignore him. I _love_ how you are always planning ahead. Quick! Pull in there!" Chuck pointed at a scenic view overlook. Sarah slammed the breaks and spun into the small lot off the road. Casey still didn't fall over.

"Casey, gun!" Sarah flipped off the headlights, leaving the area dark except for the dome light of the van.

Casey tossed an M5 and a clip to Sarah and busted out the rear of the van. Sarah bounced out her door. Both took cover behind the guard rail between the observation point lot and the road. After a couple of seconds, the first vehicle caught up. Efficient dispatching of the tires caused the first SUV to skid and crash into hill wall on the far side of the road. The second SUV stopped short as the driver saw the fate of the first. Before its occupants could get out and establish positions to return fire, Casey launched a round from the M203 through the side window of the SUV, causing the passenger cabin to explode in a fireball.

Casey called out, "Sarah, check the crashed vehicle. I've got the blast victim. Chuck, stay in the van!" Casey chuckled to himself. "I've missed saying that."

Sarah slowly approached the first vehicle, gun at the ready. From the glow from the burning SUV, she could see the airbags were deployed and the driver was unconscious. Everything seemed quiet. She was about to open the rear door, when she hear something behind her. She spun to find her hard-of-hearing boyfriend, once again, out of the van.

"I thought you could use zip ties."

Sarah shook her head in resignation. "Thanks, Chuck." Taking half the zip ties, Sarah secured the unconscious occupants in the back. Chuck secured the two in the front.

Casey called through the comms. "One dead, one wounded and incapacitated, and two unconscious here."

"All four of mine are out cold. I need to get Chuck out of here before Beckman finds out."

"Right. Ok. I'll call this in. You can get Chuck out of here. I'll tell Beckman you are following up a lead on who these guys are. That at least is somewhat true. Before you two break in your new box of supplies, I expect to be filled in on what the hell is going on."

"Of course. Chuck, where are we going?"

"925 Lindley Avenue, Encino," Chuck replied. Sarah nodded her head a couple times in recognition.

"Got it. I'll see you there in a couple of hours."

Sarah and Chuck started back towards the van, the beauty of the lights spread before them at overlook. It wasn't the greatest view in the world, but it was good enough. When you with the one you love, it really doesn't matter. Chuck reached his hand out and took Sarah's above the wrist. She turned and he could see the light from the burning SUV reflecting off her smile. _Just a normal couple in love, a night out by the campfire, well, a SUV fire._ They both turned and continued their walk to the van, arms loosing swinging. Suddenly their view was blocked by a black shape, their ears filled with a thumping sound. A spotlight on this black shape turned and focused on them.

"Uh, Chuck. Take cover!" Sarah dove forward under the van, while Chuck dropped back behind the guard rail. The helicopter lifted above them taking a high position twenty yards short and above the van. "Chuck, you're too exposed! Get over here!"

"Just a minute." Chuck was busy doing something with his wrist.

"Now, Chuck!" The helicopter turned, revealing a mounted M-135 Minigun. Sarah rolled out from her position under the van and shot up from underneath the helicopter, desperately trying to draw fire from whatever Chuck was doing. Her plan worked. The helicopter dipped forward, and shooter refocused towards her. The spotlight found her so she aggressively pushed off the ground to race around to the road-side of the van, where it could provide better cover. A few shots clipped where she had just been, when unexpectedly, the gunfire flipped up into the air and stopped. She turned just in time to see the helicopter cockpit explode in a ball of fire.

"Nice shot Casey!" The fiery helicopter seemed to hesitate for a second. Then it fell slowly towards the down slope below the overlook, when it met with another crash and explosion.

"Maybe this will take more than a couple of hours." Casey called through the comms.

Sarah pushed up and brushed herself off, and Chuck reached up to the mic button on Sarah's shoulder. "Casey, how about you come by that address at 0930 tomorrow? It's getting late, and I wouldn't want you to interrupt something you'll regret."

_Grunt_ (the please no details grunt.) "Fine. 0930 tomorrow."

Sarah looked up at Chuck was a curious expression, as Chuck stepped around her to brush off her back. "How—"

"I'm still hacked into your audio signal."

"Oh," Sarah replied although she still looked as if she were missing something.

Sarah and Chuck got back in the van and pulled away. Sarah was still driving in case another hostile showed up. The first fire rescue vehicle entered the park, just as they were leaving. All was quiet as they got back on the freeway. The air did not seem as hostile this time. It was more solemn.

Sarah broke the silence again. "I wasn't sure we would ever be working together again." Chuck didn't know what to say. "I loved working with you. I was always worried about you, but we..."

"We were a great team," Chuck finished.

"Yes we were." Sarah paused for a few seconds. "Please tell me we are still on the same team, Chuck. I don't think I could handle it if we weren't." Sarah was holding back tears.

Chuck reached out and lightly brushed Sarah's arm. "Sarah, honey, we will _always_ be on the same team. You'll see everything is ok in just a few minutes, barring any more mysterious vehicles in black trying to disrupt our evening."

"Don't you hate it when that happens?" Sarah stifled a laugh.

"Sarah, I wanted to tell you everything sooner. I just had to figure out what _it_ was first. It's kind of complicated. With the Buy More being rebuilt, I recruited Morgan to help me sort everything so I could figure out what I really would be explaining to you. I'm still trying to figure it out. I wasn't trying to hide it. Then we found those four companies, I made the mistake of listening to my excited friend, and things got a little out of hand."

"A little? Your Governor is damaged!"

"It'll be fine. I need to replace it with something more durable anyway." Chuck brushed Sarah's cheek.

Sarah leaned into Chuck's hand. "Promise?"

"I promise. Take the Resada exit, then Burbank to Lindley."

"I know," Sarah mumbled under her breath.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to call in air support."

Sarah laughed. "Funny, Chuck. That would have made your other felonies seem like small time." She turned off the freeway.

"No. I'm serious. That's what I was doing instead of coming over to the van."

"What? I don't follow."

"We're almost there, and you appear to have figured out where we are going; I guess I can show you." Chuck pulled up his left sleeve and held his arm in front of Sarah.

"Is that your Dad's wrist computer? I thought it was confiscated by the NSA."

"It was. They tried to reverse engineer it, but I didn't know to tell them it had DNA-based security. If anyone besides Dad, me, or probably Ellie used it, it would melt down."

"So you repaired it?"

"No that one is scrap. This is a second one. It can—"

"—call in a Predator in for air support. I saw the result the first time. "

"Oh yeah."

"Beckman is going to—"

"Freak out. I know. This one is secured too, so it's not like they can use it."

"Chuck, she's not going to let you keep your new toy."

"She might because of what I found. You'll see. There it is. The one with the silver Toyota out front. Morgan left the light on."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: Coming next: Welcome Home

I've never been to LA (outside of LAX), but Google Maps' Street View is great for finding good showdown locations. I needed a winding route in which Sarah's superior driving skills could be utilized to build a lead, despite being in a surveillance van. I also needed a marginally remote location for a couple of small explosions, unlike the stealth bomber's bunker buster to the Ring warehouse in the middle of LA. The address is intentionally not real.

[*] For some really good chase music, search for "El Camino Real, Alfred Reed, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra". It's not really in the Chuck-style, and probably not to most readers' tastes, but it is great for staying awake late at night.


	5. Welcome Home

_11 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 5**

**Welcome Home**

**The Bartowski Home, Encino, CA**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Sarah pulled in the driveway and turned off the engine. This night was already filled with ups and downs. Now she was going to get some answers.

"So Sarah, you've been here before?"

"I drove by a couple of years ago. I wanted to see where you grew up. I needed to know what you thought normal was. It was right after you broke up with me the second time."

"One of my Bryce-inspired moments of idiocy."

Sarah huffed. "I'm still mad at him about that. If it weren't for his insistence that I should have shot toward you while suffering the effects of a concussion, I might had been in a better position to ward off your evil ex." They exited the van and walked up to the porch. "This is _your _house now?" Sarah queried.

"Not just mine. Just a second…" Chuck reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring with a single key. "This is your key."

"This is _our_ house? Chuck, I don't think we are ready." Sarah took a step back.

"No wait, Sarah." Chuck quickly reached out and pulled Sarah into a comforting hug. "Don't freak out. This was my dad's house. So it belongs to both Ellie and me. She doesn't know about it yet. I just thought my girlfriend should have a key. I wouldn't want you to think I had a bachelor pad hideout."

Sarah was glad the porch light was not bright enough to expose her blush. She pulled slightly back while remaining in his arms. "Your dad bought this house back? It would have shown up in the files on Orion. When did he buy it?"

"Really, almost thirty years ago. When Ellie filed for my custody, the lawyer helped us declare Dad missing. With him legally missing, she could sell the house. The money paid for food, rent, and her tuition. The offer came quickly and was much higher than our asking price on the condition we leave the furniture. Dad must have used an alias to buy it."

"So it's yours now."

"Technically, it's nobody's. I'm having trouble linking the alias with Dad. I need to do that before we can transfer the deed. For now the utilities are being paid by a trust under the name of the alias."

"How do you know the real owners aren't just on vacation?"

"Dad sent me a—"

Chuck was interrupted by the opening of the front door. "There you guys are! I was getting worried."

"Sorry we didn't call Morgan. The bad guys are contained. Casey is overseeing cleanup."

"I wasn't worried about them. You guys are the best spies in the world. I was worried about dinner. It is getting cold. Come in. Come in."

Chuck followed Sarah into the house and Morgan scampered off to the kitchen. "Speaking of calls, Chuck, I really need to call Ellie." Sarah pulled out her phone.

"Why?"

"She made me make a promise. She knows she can't know before we go on missions, but she said she'd rest easier if I promised to always let her know whenever I'm back safely." Sarah dialed.

"That is so sweet. You're checking in. You're really becoming part of the family."

"I'm learning. Just a minute. Hi, Ellie!"

"_Are you ok! What's going on? I saw you and John leave tonight. Then I turned on the news a few minutes ago."_ Chuck could easily hear the panic in Ellie's voice, even though the phone was not on speaker.

"Crap! We made the news. What channel?"

"_Channel 4."_

"Chuck?"

"Got it." The old, wood paneled TV showed a helicopter view of the wreckage from earlier in the night. The partially obscured caption read: Freak Helicopter Crash, Topanga CYN, 2 Cars Caught In Crash.

"_You're with Chuck? What is he doing with you on a mission?" _ Sarah mouthed to Chuck, "_Help_."

Chuck took the phone. "It's ok Ellie. Sarah met up with Morgan and me after the mission for dinner. We didn't know she had been followed. Casey helped out, and we got away. It was just a little messy." Chuck shrugged to Sarah. He was technically telling the truth.

"_A little? Your little mess is on the news!"_

"Casey got carried away with the firepower. I think he is overcompensating since being knocked out with a frying pan and getting his face punched in by two different women. Not to mention the multiple times Sarah has beaten him when he was fighting back. As punishment for his overreaction tonight, he is now overseeing cleanup. Sarah, Morgan, and I are at a safe house, away from the scene. Morgan should be home later, but Sarah and I are going to take advantage of the privacy. We'll be back tomorrow evening."

"_Chuck, I don't want you getting involved in this spy stuff again."_

"Ellie, I'm not in the CIA. However, Sarah, the love of my life, is. Stuff like this might happen occasionally, but she's worth it." Chuck winked at Sarah, who was wearing a big smile.

Sarah called towards the phone, "And I'll always protect him, Ellie."

"You heard that. I have my own lovely, kick-ass ninja bodyguard, just for the rare cases in which this type of thing happens. However, changing the subject… What are you and Devon doing the day after tomorrow?"

"_Nothing so far. We both still have the day off."_

"Good. Sarah and I have something important to show you. Come by for breakfast. Then we can get an early start."

"_What? Are you two—" _Chuck could detect a squeal coming on.

"No, it's about something of Dad's I've run across. I'm drafting Sarah to help me straighten it out tomorrow. Then we can go over it the day after."

"_Chuck, you know I don't like these secrets."_

"It's ok, Elle. I think you'll like this one. Uh, Morgan is hovering with the food. You know how anal he gets about food presentation since he went to cooking school, so I have to go. Love ya."

"_I love you too. We haven't finished the other part of this conversion either. Be careful, little brother."_

"I will. Bye."

Chuck handed the phone back to Sarah, and he turned to Morgan. "Sorry buddy, I needed an excuse to get her off the phone. She's flipping out about the TV, and I was having trouble not explaining this place."

"That's ok. It looks like you two had a lot of fun tonight." Morgan pointed to the TV with the big spoon in his hand.

"That was Casey. He decided a grenade launcher would be a good idea. Maybe you should stay clear until he cools off about the tranq you shot him with.

"Good call. And you were absolutely right about the other thing. Food presentation is a vital part of the whole experience. Speaking of which… milady." Morgan slowly swung his arm showing Sarah the path down the hall. "Or I should say Chuckslady."

Sarah walked by Morgan, turning her head towards him with one of those surprised, what-is-Morgan-doing-now looks on her face. She stepped into the dining area and saw the table set for two with candles lit in the middle.

"Buttering me up, Morgan?" Sarah inquired.

"Absolutely." Morgan rushed over and pulled out her chair. Chuck walked over to the other, shaking his head. "I'm buttering both of you up."

"Why?" Sarah playfully questioned.

"Well, I've asked Chuck to help me refine my skills of seduction. Anyone who could land the beautifully awesome Sarah Walker is obviously a master. I was hoping you would help defend me, if it becomes necessary."

Sarah stifled an abrupt laugh. "This is about Alex, isn't it?"

"Yes. I just can't stop thinking about her. She's not as aggressive as Anna, so I need some pointers to get her attention in that way, if you know what I mean. But not just in that way, of course. And then Casey really scares me sometimes. Now, with me shooting him with the tranq gun—"

Chuck jumped in to stop the rambling, "We'll both see what we can do, Morgan. Won't we, honey?" Sarah just covered her small chuckle.

Sarah tried to calm herself. "What's for dinner, Morgan?"

"I would have cooked, but that gas oven looks like it hasn't been used in fifteen years. I'm going to have it checked out before risking the whole house. So I ordered Chinese Palace."

"Buddy, when we were kids, that place was never very good."

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. My guy at the Bamboo Dragon told me several of the cooks from there moved to Chinese Palace a couple of years ago."

Chuck groaned. "I told you about the Mei-Lin and the Triad at the Bamboo Dragon. These cooks are probably Triad. They moved when we busted their boss."

"Oh no! You don't think it is poisoned, do you?"

Sarah calmly interrupted, "I'm sure it is fine, Morgan. Thanks for your effort. This is exactly the kind of thing you should do for Alex, when Casey isn't looking of course. " Sarah thought for a second and then offered, "You should join us."

"I ate some while I was waiting. I'm taking more to go." Morgan spun into the kitchen and quickly returned, carrying five containers, precariously balanced in a tower. "I know I'm a third wheel and want to be gone before the googly eyes start. Besides, I have to get up early for a breakfast date with Alex tomorrow. Chuck told me about the chocolate croissant approach. I'm surprising her with cinnamon rolls."

"Does Alex know about this date?" Chuck questioned.

"Uhhhhh—"

Sarah smiled. "It'll be fine Morgan. Just speak from the heart and make her laugh, and you'll do fine. Casey's going to be here at 9:30. You should come by around 10 so we can mediate a truce."

"Thanks Sarah. Thanks Chuck." Morgan left with his Leaning Tower of Chinese Containers, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone.

"Sarah, do you really think we should be encouraging him?" Chuck started to fill his plate.

"I'm will Ellie on this one. Morgan will be much easier to deal with if he has a girl. While I liked Anna, Alex seems a lot more grounded and a lot less psycho. "

Chuck teased, "Says the knife-wielding spy."

Sarah smirked. "She knows a little about the spy stuff already and she's family, so at least we don't have to worry she might be ex-Fulcrum. I also saw her watching Morgan the other night at our place. I think she likes him."

Sarah took a few bites. "Morgan really does know all the good restaurants."

After a minute or two of furtive glances across the candlelit table, Chuck spoke up. "This would be kind of romantic—"

"—if we weren't in mission gear and covered in sweat and dirt." Sarah finished. She put down her chopsticks and became serious. "Chuck, you know I've given you a fairly large pass over the past hour under the expectation that you are going to fill me in. I think it is time."

"You're right, of course. I was just distracted by the lovely women underneath the dirt, sitting across the table."

Sarah rolled her eyes and came back firm, "Chuck!"

"Ok. I'll try to do this quickly, but there is a lot to cover." Chuck inhaled and exhaled deeply before continuing. "First, let me address the concerned girlfriend who is concerned for my health. It has been a couple hours since my watch was damaged. I think I'm still feeling its cooling effect, so I think the Governor is undamaged. After his cabin was compromised, my dad left some equipment here that I can use to run some diagnostics. I'll do that first thing when we are finished with Casey tomorrow. Long term, I'm planning on building a better Governor. I think the watch was either because my dad was 'old school' or because he could build it faster. This one had to be fairly large to cool my brain from the wrist. I found plans for a much, much smaller model that can be implanted behind my ear. I'll need a doctor to implant it, but I really think Ellie and Devon need to be brought in the loop about the Intersect anyway. They are going to see me flash sometime, and I don't want to end up in the hospital because they think I'm having a seizure."

"I'll talk to Beckman. However, we should probably wait until she cools off after tonight's fiasco. She's not going to be happy about the news coverage."

"Fortunately for us, Casey will bear the brunt of that. I think I have a way to distract her from the news coverage anyway."

Chuck continued, "Second, I'd like to address the angry girlfriend that thinks I'm hiding things from her. In my defense, I would like to point out I was planning on giving you a key, which you now have. I also moved some of your extra clothes from Ellie's guest room closet to this place and have already stocked the bathroom with most of your necessities. I truly was planning on telling you everything very soon. I was getting this place ready for you. Murphy intervened and things happened a little out of order. I'm sorry."

Sarah looked concerned. "I thought you said this house was not for us. I don't think we are really ready."

"Right, right, right. I see panicked, relationship-cautious girlfriend has returned. There are several options for what to do with this place, which we can talk about later. I just think we might need to stay here some nights over the next few weeks, for reasons that are soon to become apparent."

"Chuck, I don't think it is cute when you talk like I have multiple personality disorder."

"But I love having multiple girlfriends. All of which are beautiful, have a distinct, quirky personality I love, and are named Sarah." Chuck teased. Sarah crossed arms showed she wasn't buying it. "Ok. We'll call them hats, not personalities. Right now, I need you to put on a very specific hat. Not the 'deadly, non-nonsense, 100% CIA Agent Walker' hat. Instead I need the 'efficient, critical thinking, 95% CIA Sarah who still puts her boyfriend first' hat."

Sarah didn't hesitate, "I can do that." Lately, that was the hat with which she was most comfortable.

"Great! Then would you please follow me back to the family room." Chuck stood, offering Sarah his hand.

Once in the family room, "I told you Dad left some plans and equipment here. It turns out he left a lot more." Chuck released Sarah and stepped over to the light switch panel. "I'll show you the sequence later. If I forget, Morgan will remind me because I keep telling him you get to find out everything else first." With a few precise movements of the switch, the back wall and floor slid over, revealing a staircase.

Sarah groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this. You have your own Batcave." Sarah planted the palm of her hand on her forehead.

Chuck flashed a huge smile. "First Star Trek, now Batman. How did I get so lucky to find a woman as wonderful as you? Wait, we've never watched that one together."

"After the Vicky Vale introduction, I thought I should do some research," Sarah explained.

"Well just be happy I'm showing you the 'Orion Cave' without you being drugged by the Joker first. For the record, Morgan said you looked like Vicky Vale. Personally, I don't think she holds a candle to you."

Sarah smiled. "See, this is what I was talking about. We both know there was no way I was going to make it through tonight mad at you. So can I enter the 'Orion Cave'?"

"Of course."

Sarah stepped down the secret staircase, with Chuck following. At the bottom, Sarah just stood there for a minute. "Chuck, what is all of this?" She started looking at the dozens of filing boxes that were lining the shelves.

"This is what my dad has been doing for the last twenty years. The night of the wake, I received a delayed delivery video email from Dad—a spy will—telling me about this place. When I told you I needed to get some air that night, this is where I came."

"You should have told me. The CIA and NSA need to go through these files. I assume this is how you got the information for your tips. There could be hundreds of more leads that need to be followed up."

"There probably are, Sarah. However, this is where I need that 5% that puts her boyfriend first. Ok?"

"Ok."

"I want to hand over as much of this information as possible. First, however, I need you, Morgan, and Casey to help me go through it."

"There is way too much here…"

"Let me explain. Dad was working twenty years as a private spy. Some of this information is obsolete, like the four boxes I've found on Fulcrum. I worried some of the information may be incriminating to the wrong people. For example, there might be a file about how Beckman played high school point guard for a team who is now hell-bent on ruling the world."

Sarah laughed.

"There could also be some things about my dad or my family that Beckman might use to blackmail me back into CIA servitude. "

"You don't trust Beckman?"

"Normally, but not with this mother load. I only trust my family. That's you, Ellie, Devon, Morgan, and Casey. These files are private property, so I'm under no obligation to share them."

"Casey will insist."

"He owes me for Kathleen, and I think he'll not hesitate from helping when he discovers the most important reason why I'm being cautious with this information." Chuck and Sarah and reached the table at the end of the aisle. Chuck reached over and lifted a silver charm of a child. "I told you my dad started this all twenty years ago. That is five years before he left. That was when Mom left." Chuck lifted the box on the table up on its end. _Mary Elizabeth Bartowski: Missing_

Sarah looked up at him in realization. "Chuck."

"This is about Mom."

Sarah pulled Chuck into a long firm hug. They didn't let go for a while.

After a few minutes, Sarah pulled slightly away and said, "What do you need?"

"I need one of your great plans. Actually I need a couple plans. First I need a plan for Ellie. I'm forcing myself to tell her about the house in two days. That's what I was I was setting up on the phone earlier. I haven't decided about this basement. On one hand, it will help explain to her what Dad never got a chance to explain. On the other, she holds a harder grudge against Mom than I do. I don't know how she will react. The house is part Ellie's too. I'd like to give _them_ the opportunity to move in here. It's further from the hospital, but I have a feeling they are going to be needed a larger place soon."

"Really? Has Ellie said something?" Sarah looked surprised.

"No. You're the spy. I was hoping you would tell me."

"Nothing yet. We'd probably hear the squeals if something were definitive. It is a distinct possibility, though."

"So if they moved here, then either Morgan or the two of us could take their place. I thought a _private_ _apartment_ of our own would be a safe step at this point of our relationship." Chuck offered a small smile.

Sarah provided a big smile back. "Yes. I like small steps." Sarah closed the hug briefly and then released.

"Of course, we might need to hold off until we decide to explain this to Ellie or until we can get this place cleared out."

"What about Beckman?"

"Right. That's the second plan I need. With this search for my Mom, I'm going to want to go on some missions. I'd like to do that with my partners."

"I'd like that too. Casey's a good partner, but it's not the same without you. However, Beckman wouldn't go along with personal missions."

"Not unless we can wrap them up in legitimate national security interests. Also, I don't want to blindly hand over everything without knowing what it is."

"So we need to understand the information, control the flow of information, keep your no-CIA promise to Ellie, and continue your dad's search for your mom. " Sarah's mind was churning.

Chuck nodded. "I hope this explains why I was being so secretive. Morgan was around when Mom left, so I was hoping he could help me gauge Ellie's potential reaction. Instead he just got excited about the prospect of getting the team back together. So now I'm hoping to get an idea of Ellie's reaction when she sees this place again. You could help with that. I'll drop some hints. If it looks like she would want to reconnect with Mom, then maybe she would see my promise to continue Dad's work important enough to preempt my promise to her."

Sarah continued the thought process. "Then we would just have to deal with Beckman. Casey and I would be responsible for that. I'll need to think about the full ramifications. I still think it might be good to keep you out of the CIA. If you and Morgan could be classified as some kind of 'outside consultants'—NOT ASSETS—it might be easier to control the information. I think Beckman would just be happy if you were back on the team, in any capacity."

"How times have changed. A side benefit is basement contains enough work to keep you in LA for a while."

"Like I would ever leave the man I love." Sarah leaned up and gave Chuck a lingering kiss. "I'm going to need some time to digest all of this. I agree that Casey won't be a problem, so we should start formulating a plan when he is in the loop." Sarah dropped the serious tone in favor a playful one. "In the meantime, I believe you have earned some make-up activities. First, we both need a shower because we both stink. Then, I expect to see the bed you grew up it."

"That bed is a single bed, Sarah. There's not much room."

"Who says we are going to need much room." Sarah replied with a glimmer in her eye. She grabbed Chucks hand, pivoted and yanked him back to the stairs. The problems could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, she had other plans.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: Coming Next: A Step in the Right Direction (a short postscript)


	6. A Step in the Right Direction

_11 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 6**

**A Step in the Right Direction**

**Near the Topanga Canyon Overlook **

**(aka The SOSSOD - The Scenic Overlook Showdown Site of Destruction)**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Casey surveyed the scene. The fires were out, the prisoners and corpses had been taken away, and the NSA teams were picking through the vehicles for evidence. Except for the single news chopper, which had finally been relocated to a 'safe' distance, the scene showed all signs of an efficient operation. Beckman was not happy about the news coverage, but this wasn't the first time something like this had happened in the last three years. She'd get over it.

That was strange. With the extended FAA no fly area set up, and the fires out, there was really not much else to see. The rest of the helicopters had given up. Casey made a call. Maybe this one was buddies with the one currently being sifted through. This suspicious helicopter would have a tail.

With that call finished, Casey lit up his victory cigar. There was only one more thing to do.

"Peterson! Bring me your laptop!" The young NSA agent rushed over, laptop in hand. Casey took the laptop, and Peterson retreated to his previous task. It was good to be the Colonel.

Casey set the laptop on the hood of a nearby car and plugged in his secure cell phone. A few buttons on the cell and a few keys on the laptop presented a view of a familiar courtyard. Casey adjusted the view over and down with the touchpad.

Casey waited. He was patient. Everyone knew better than to disturb the Colonel.

After about five minutes, the target appeared on the screen, fumbling with his keys at the door. A deliberate keystroke on the laptop resulted in the remote target collapsing into a pile on the ground.

Casey grunted in satisfaction as he unhooked his phone and closed the laptop. He knew mounting a remote-activated tranq pistol across from Bartowski's door would come in handy someday.

It's not like Casey was totally heartless. After he returned to the apartments, he'd pull Grimes inside to his couch. However, there was no way the bearded moron would be up in time for breakfast with Alex tomorrow. Grimes was really naïve to think Casey wouldn't know about his "surprise" plan.

They might be even now, but even wasn't good enough. This was simply a step in the right direction. Casey returned to his cigar with a contented grunt.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: That was for all of you who, like me, did not like the kinder, gentler, more considerate Morgan that I portrayed in the last chapter. Morgan is supposed to be funnier and more annoying than that. In retaliation, I shot him (or had Casey do it).

Coming next: Morgan's Law (a short post-postscript)


	7. Morgan's Law

_11 Aug 2010_

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Chapter 7**

**Morgan's Law**

**The Bartowski Home, Encino, CA**

**Last morning, two days later**

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Ellie returned to the family room with a half surprised, half smiling look on her face. "I still can't believe Dad bought the house from us back when he left."

"He may not have been around, but he was still looking out for us, Sis."

Awesome came up behind Chuck with Sarah trailing. "Bro, are you sure about this? The house, I mean. I think that maybe you and Sarah need a place where the worm can wiggle free."

Chuck shuttered at the comment. After years, he still wished Awesome would learn to keep the conversion more…appropriate for all ages. "Sarah and I talked about this. While we have loved each other for three years, we have really only be dating for a few months. A house would be too big of a step. However, we could maybe take over your apartment."

Sarah added, "Chuck and I do better with small steps."

"So you two are _still_ taking it slow?" Ellie questioned with a hint of disapproval.

Chuck defended back, "Things are great the way we are doing them now, and we would appreciate it if our protective sister-slash-friend would let us find our own path."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll back off for _now_. But no promises for the future, " she added with a twist of a smile. "Thank for you for the house."

"It's your house too, Sis. Actually, right now it's nobody's house. Dad bought it under an alias, which we have not been able to link to him. That and a few classified documents I found are the reasons I drafted Sarah to help yesterday." _Ok, more than a few documents. _Chuck realized now was the time to start hinting about their mom. "So far we have had no luck with the alias or the trust that has been keeping this place up. For all we know, Mom's name might be on the place too."

"Mom? Why would you think she would still be involved?"

"She was on the original mortgage. Maybe—"

Chuck was interrupted by a sliding sound from across the room. The four people in the family room turned towards the no-longer-hidden opening with different levels of shock. From the opening, emerged a little bearded man holding a grape soda and a sandwich.

"Hey guys. I thought I heard someone up here. I let myself in last night. You know I missed my surprise breakfast with Alex yesterday. Casey shot me with a tranq dart in retaliation for shooting him on our mission the other night. He's still giving me this creepy predator look, so last night I snuck out, took three buses and two cabs to lose him. Then I surprised Alex with the cinnamon rolls this morning. Morgan's Breakfast Surprise, Take Two. Good call with that, Chuck. She had a good time, I think, I hope. I followed your advice, Sarah, and just tried to be myself. Chuck gave me that advice once too, a couple years ago, when you had that mission to seduce that guy at the yacht club. I did better this time. At least I think it went well. I wasn't there long, but we have a real date for tomorrow night. I doubt Casey would want his daughter stood up on a date, so I should be in the clear, without him shooting me again, that is. After breakfast, I came over here to work on the files. There are dozens of boxes to go through before the Buy More reopens as a CIA front, like Beckman told us yesterday that it would. You know the light switch code for the Orion Cave wasn't that hard to figure out. In only took me twenty minutes or so. I started through the file on your Mom again…"

Morgan stopped, finally noticing Chuck across the room, wildly waving his arms and stopping on the floor. Sarah had collapsed to the sofa, trying to hold back tears as she covered her laugh with one hand and held her stomach with the other. Devon's eyes were quickly darting around the room in a complete look of confusion. Ellie's look of initial shock transformed into something darker.

"Chuck!"

Chuck sighed. "Ellie, have a seat. I guess I need to explain a few things."

How did Chuck ever keep his secret for three years? Forget all of the strategizing he and Sarah had done about what to tell Ellie when. Forget Murphy's Law. All it took was Morgan.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

A/N: Morgan's favorite sandwich is foot-in-mouth sandwich—with cheese. For all my ideas about how Chuck could tell Ellie, I decided the best way was by accident. As for picking on Morgan in these last two chapters, I probably should say I really like Morgan, especially now that he is in the spy loop. I just think it's funny when he helps in some unexpected way. Chuck didn't know how to tell Ellie; with Morgan's "help" that's no longer a problem.

That's all for this story. Once again, it's been fun. Thank you all for your supportive reviews and for just stopping by. I'm better at banter than action, so this story was a bigger challenge for me than my first. However, the chase scene was a lot of fun, especially because it was added on a whim. I hope you enjoyed it.


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